


Yellow Card

by UnicornAffair



Series: Olympic Rangers [1]
Category: Power Rangers (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Olympics AU, Trimberly Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-12-11 23:43:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11725038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnicornAffair/pseuds/UnicornAffair
Summary: With the Olympics only 3 months away, hot shot soccer player Trini Gomez tries to pick up the beautiful Kimberly Hart not realizing that she's also an Olympic athlete, and thus sticking her foot in her mouth, possibly ruining her chances at the star tennis pro.





	Yellow Card

**Author's Note:**

> So after Zason Week someone requested that I make a prequel to how Kimberly and Trini get together so...hope you all enjoy!
> 
> Oh I needed a female roommate for Trini so I chose the yellow ranger from Megaforce (Gia Moran)
> 
> Check out this awesome edit made by xx-shlimazel-xx  
> http://xx-shlimazl-xx.tumblr.com/post/164380877204/power-rangers-olympics-au-based-on-this-fics

For Kimberly Hart she always had an advantage growing up, was always one step ahead of the others. Most of the athletes around her had an inspiring story, coming from nothing to achieve their dreams. No, for Kimberly Hart she had rich parents, she was privileged to country clubs and the finest coaches in the country. When her mother noticed her true potential, she drove her to be the best, that she was born to be an Olympian and that nothing else mattered but the win at the end of the day. Eventually, Kimberly had been put into a extreme training regiment, she could be privately taught her academics while rising to the top. In the realm of tennis Kimberly Hart was the princess, a name to be reckoned with. She worked hard and deserved the be representing her country in a couple of months for the games, she was just fortunate enough to have the means necessary for an advantage. 

Every four years the competition wasn’t just between athletes to who would make it to Olympic rosters, and which dreams would be casted to the wayside. Sponsors and advertising departments were in the midst of a bloodbath trying to garner Olympic support for their brand. In America when it became Olympic season, the entire country had it’s eye on the television, newspapers, internet, they ate the global competition up and even the smallest sport like crew-rowing could have their chance to be recognized. Kimberly wasn’t new to the marketing game, when she started gaining traction on the field she was approached by Nike for sponsorship. As an impressive well spoken athlete who donated most of her winnings to support breast cancer research, she was an excellent choice to sponsor the swoosh brand. Just do it. Ever since, she would only wear the colors pink and white to her matches, complete PR gold.

This year Adidas beat out their biggest rival, Nike, and to celebrate the occasion the president of the company decided to throw an Olympic Gala exclusively for the press and the athletes participating and representing the great country of America. Of course Kimberly wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to dress up and have a little fun, the Olympics were a once in a lifetime chance and she would relish every memory. Her parents could breathe easy, all of the money they invested in her tennis career would be worth it. 

Kimberly took the time to get ready, with press there would inevitably be photos taken of her and she needed to look her best. Of course she had a pink dress picked out, her signature color, she couldn’t leave that behind. Opening her phone’s contact list she scanned a list of friends, and ex’s, the only person she would consider inviting to be her date would be her best platonic friend Zack Taylor, her doubles partner for charity events. Only, he would also be attending as a participant, that boy was on a fast track to an Olympic gold himself. Still, at least she wouldn’t be arriving alone if she called him. 

Adidas pulled out all of the stops to treat their Olympians well, the president managed to rent out an entire exhibition center for their event. Large, spacious, with a go big or go home attitude, literally, the ceilings were extremely high. Zack, with Kimberly on his arm, made a fine entrance to the party. He of course was taking as many pictures as possible to update his social media presence, the young man especially loved his twitter account. 

Zack Taylor @AceZTaylor  
@KimLoveHart Now the party can really get started! #Olympics #Adidas #Myprincess  
[IMG]

He always knew how to get Kimberly to crack a smile, she retweeted the image of course, she looked flawless in the photo he took minutes before entering the gala. Coming from next to nothing, these big events were always new and exciting for him, if not a bit overwhelming. With a smile on his face, he hid whatever insecurity or doubt lingered in the back of his mind. Finding the bar was his number one priority, he left Kimberly to fend for herself and take a walkabout the center. 

At events like this she loved to people watch, team sports were much different than solo sports like hers. With teams, like basketball and soccer they tended to stick to one another like a pack. Some stragglers were brave enough to mingle a bit, if only to mix things up a bit from the usual. Most of the big names didn’t really know much outside of their realm. The who’s who of track and field didn’t mean much to an NBA all-star. They were here for the open bar, and the media attention. Swimmers, were the dark horses of an Olympic party, it was one of the sports that the country didn’t care much about outside of the games but one of the most watched. Despite having household names, most were friendly enough to talk to anyone, they could live the best of both worlds. The smaller sports like archery, or fencing, were only amazed to be there and didn’t want to cause much waves. It was all just like high school, but with adult athletes instead of the standard cliques. The cool sports and the underappreciated. 

With tennis, Kimberly and Zack sat in a happy medium of popularity. People who really paid attention to tennis would know their names and faces from gatorade commercials. Kimberly had a bit more of an edge on Zack being a bigger name among female athletes. Girls in sports tended to face the same adversities unfair pay, the general boys club attitudes; so they stuck together when they could. 

Billy Cranston, a up and coming news reporter for ESPN approached Kimberly, decked out in a shiny blue suit he stuck out like a sore thumb but he rocked it. The young announcer was always known for his upbeat and contagious personality, it was impossible not to smile during an interview with Cranston, “Kimberly Hart” He clapped his hands together, excited to see one of his favorite athletes in the flesh. He always enjoyed each and every interview with the tennis pro, “Mind if I steal you for a quote?”

Kimberly pulled a tall, slender, glass of champagne from a server’s tray as they passed by. Taking a moment to turn to Billy with a smile on her face, “Sure, anytime for you”

“This is my first Olympics too” As a commentator he felt extremely anxious, but also excited for the opportunity. If he were biased he always enjoyed watching the summer games over the winter ones, “I get to work both the men’s and women’s singles tournaments” He nodded his head as he listed the rest of his duties off, “Also basketball, some parts of the swimming and oh mostly the track. Oh I can’t wait” He rested a hand on his chest, he needed to calm himself down before going on a tangent, “Three months away, how are you doing?”

“Well” Kimberly poised herself to answer the question, this could be in an article so she wanted to make sure all of her ducks were in a row so to speak, “A part of me is relieved, to really know that yes I’m going and that this is really happening. Getting to this point has been such a journey, but I’m proud to be apart of something great with so many other talented people. As far as the future goes, I just conditioning and keeping up with my diet and we’ll see where that goes” She thought that would suffice, “As you know I’ll also be participating in a charity match. It’s Zack Taylor and I against Adam Park and Tanya Sloan, all of the proceeds will be going to the winners choice” With Zack’s mother having a serious case of cancer, the two agreed that if they won against the other pros that the money would be going somewhere special to them. “So it’ll be a nice warm up”

“Oh so one from the men’s doubles team and one from the women’s” Billy knew he would be at the event, when it came to tennis there weren’t many volunteers at ESPN so he jumped at the opportunity. By choosing the less popular sports each and every time it guaranteed that he would be point, filling out his resume nicely for when he would get a full time slot covering one of the more popular American sports. “I do have a question for you, off the record” Kimberly nodded for him to continue, “Would you be interested in co-anchoring with me during the men’s singles tournament? If you have the time of course”

That wasn’t a question Kimberly was expecting, the thought of co-anchoring anything really crossed her mind. That was something to look forward to when she was close to retiring or if she were ever invited to college tournaments, “I can’t completely commit to anything, but if I can, I would love to Billy”

Kimberly noticed out of the corner of her eye that someone was approaching them. Trini Gomez, the head of the women’s soccer team, she recognized that face anywhere. If there was one women’s sport America adored it was soccer...what wasn’t to love? They were damn good, not as consistent as the women’s basketball team, but definitely stole the hearts of the country. When the Olympics weren’t happening, the women’s team would participate in the world cup, and tournament after tournament would outdo their male counterparts. If sports ran like a high school popularity contest, Trini would be considered part of the popular clique, the A tier of women’s athletics. 

Kimberly glanced up and down the other woman’s figure as she continued to make her way to their side of the room. Trini, unfortunately for the world, decided on wearing a nice set of dress pants, a vest and a tie. Tonight she’d rather show off her arms than her legs, a pity. Rather than the ponytail Kimberly had come to be used to Trini let her long wavy hair out of it’s prison, she cleaned up nice. “Billy Cranston” She smiled wide, greeting the commentator like an old friend. “Oh” She looked to Kim, obviously she didn’t want to be rude by ignoring the woman standing next to Billy. Trini was the one interrupting after all, “I’m sorry...is this your new assistant?” What? Did she say assistant? “Hi, I’m Trini Gomez” She flashed her a grin, clearly she wanted to impress Billy’s new girl. 

Kimberly let out a breath, completely taken aback by this girl. Sure, she understood that tennis wasn’t the most popular sport in the world. Everyone in this room knew the women’s soccer roster, Kimberly was there as they won the last world cup. She did her homework, she wanted to show her support to every female athlete in this room so for to Trini to not recognize who she was…Worse, she didn’t even realize she played a sport and was here on account of Billy and the media. 

“No-no this isn’t” Billy had been just as surprised as Kimberly by the mistaken identity, “This is Kimberly Hart.” Trini blinked, clearly she had at least a couple of drinks before coming over, her expression completely blank. She had no idea what that name meant. No bells were ringing in her head. “As in the world renowned tennis player?”

Trini’s eyes widened, taking note of Kimberly’s polite but clearly irritated smile. She didn't even realize this wasn't the first time the two were introduced. All Trini wanted to do was flirt with a pretty girl, get her off of Billy’s hands for a night and now she felt like the biggest jackass in the room. “Oh God I am so sorry. I uh, I didn't know” Clearly. 

“It's okay” it wasn't, Kimberly couldn’t hide her annoyance. Zack has called her out on her resting bitch face before, “I'm sure it's hard to remember faces after taking as many balls to the head as you have” A tennis ball wasn’t the only thing Kim could serve. Was that a bit uncalled for? Yes, absolutely, but oh did it feel so good watching the overly confident soccer player try to quickly connect the dots on where they could have crossed paths before. Kim smiled like a passive-aggressive monster, finishing off her champagne glass and setting it on an empty tray as a server passed. “It was great talking to you Billy” She rested a hand on Billy’s bicep, her attention back to the still stunned soccer player, “Good luck at the games Trini” That sentiment she truly meant, she wasn’t going to leave completely on a sour note. 

Trini watched as the tennis player sauntered off. “I really messed that up, didn’t I?” Shit, she definitely deserved that. If she ever wanted to have a chance with her, no, even if she didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell with her she needed to make things right.

Billy nodded, patting the downtrodden girl’s shoulder, “Yeah, yeah you really screwed that up” Thanks Cranston, that made her feel super fantastic. 

********

After the party, Kimberly decided to sleep over her friend Zack’s apartment. With a ping pong table set up in his living room, the pair of tennis pros didn’t even bother to take off their formal wear to play a casual-if not tipsy round. Since the two barely spoke to one another all night, they had a lot of catching up to do. Zack had filled Kimberly in on his drinking escapade with Tori Hanson and the other women’s swimmers, and showed her all of the selfies he took with NBA players. 

“I saw Trini Gomez today” Kimberly waited for Zack to take his suit jacket before starting their little game. His eyebrows went straight up, that was a big name, but Kimberly’s tone didn’t exactly come off as excited. “You will not believe what happened”

“Share with the class” He tried spiking the ball into the table, but it wasn’t good enough to get passed Kim, their volley continued. “Man what is she like? Did you get her autograph?” The ball hit him dead in the chest, ow that should not have hurt so much.

“I think she wanted to hit on me” More like Kim was 90% positive the only reason Trini came over to talk to them was to try and pick her up. Which really made her think how often she went around doing that sort of thing. “She thought I was Billy’s assistant”

“Oh man you saw Billy?” Zack loved that guy, he was so much freaking fun; seeing Kimberly glare daggers at him he quickly realized that he focused on the wrong part of the story. “Oh shit, so she thought you were easy” He laughed doing an awful Kim impression, “Soccer makes me so wet”

“...Shut up!” Kimberly had to pick up the little white ball from the ground as she let it by her, playing ping pong and venting while tipsy may not have been the best idea. “Stop that’s not the point. I’m trying to make a point here. I’m Kimberly Hart”

“Damn right you are”

“Yeah” She didn’t serve the ball, she let the side of her paddle hit the table, “I worked hard to get here and she thought I was an assistant. An assistant”

“Not that there’s anything wrong with assistants” Zack loved being assisted, no wait, that wasn’t the same thing. He started to laugh at his own thought process, motioning for Kim to continue the game.

“I get it. Who cares about tennis?” Kimberly rolled her eyes, her voice dripped with sarcasm, she knew her place in the way her livelihood was viewed. “But god…”

Zack, with his paddle hand on his chest for a moment, “I do, I care about tennis” 

“It just made me so mad” She tried to slam the ball into the corner of the table to catch Zack off guard, only for him to return it and continue the volley. “Like who does she think she is? What nerve”

“Trini Gomez” Zack caught the ball in the air, he needed Kimberly to stop and focus on his next question. “Okay, so if she didn’t completely undercut you...would you have considered it?”

“Considered what?” Kimberly tilted her head to the side, it was Zack asking the question, he could be implying anything. 

“Going down on her in a bathroom” She threw one of the spare ping pong balls at him, making him cackle, he loved ruffling up her feathers, “I mean would you go out with her?”

“I’m not blind, she’s stunning” If she were being honest, yes she absolutely would have given the soccer player a shot. At the very least she would’ve been open to drinks, “And it’s always nice going out with another athlete” Someone who really could understand the day to day demands, and the excessive amount of travel. “...Yes...okay? I would have.” A thoughtful frown returned to her face, “I’m still pissed about it”

Zack sighed, his best friend was so freaking stubborn.

*******

Trini’s night at least improved after the incident with the tennis player. She could never have a terrible time around her team, those girls could make anything fun, and if she were honest she needed the company of her girls after striking out so badly. Kimberly Hart burned in the back of her mind the entire night, even benefitting from the open bar couldn’t push her away. Trini messed up bad and she needed to make it up to her. 

Still in her yellow and black flannel pajama pants and an world cup champion t-shirt she ate breakfast sitting at a table with her laptop raring to go. She was going to find out everything she could on the fellow Olympian. She googled articles and interviews about the girl taking up a cause for breast cancer, as well as looked up videos on youtube with her latest cup win. God, tennis was so boring. Trini could appreciate the technical side of any sport, yeah it took a lot of endurance and strength to be able to keep up long matches but watching it, didn’t excite her much. 

The apartment door opened and broke Trini from her thoughts, her roommate and fellow teammate Gia Moran stepped into their space taking headphones out of her ears. She must’ve gone on her morning jog without Trini, typical. The tall blonde grabbed a fresh water bottle so she could rest it against her forehead. “Are you watching tennis?” She asked, surprised that’s what her roommate would be watching as opposed to literally anything else. “Why?” She sat down across from her roommate, she didn’t need to see her laptop screen. 

The two roommates had only known each other for a couple of years, through soccer of course. Outside of the sport they didn't give themselves much time for a real social life outside of the gym. The pair of women started off as rivals so to say, always trying to out do the other on the pitch to get the most attention. Their competitive drive only pushed them to do better. Just last year they decided that with their salaries, it was smart to live together in order to really save. Living in the city wasn't cheap if a person wanted actual space. Out of everyone on the team, Trini grew to be the closest to the blonde; having a shared interest in girls in common. One time they did try to see if they would have chemistry as a couple but after a kiss they realized that being platonic best friends would be for the best.

Trini closed her laptop, needing to ask her roommate a very, very serious question. “What do you know about Kimberly Hart? The tennis player”

Gia had to set her water bottle down, staring at Trini as if she had three heads, was she freaking serious right now? “...You’re joking right?” Trini shook her head no, “Okay?” She still seemed confused about the whole ordeal, “She’s basically the next greatest tennis player our country’s ever seen? You...” She hand to rest her elbows on the table, folding her hands to rest her forehead against them, “Trini” She let out a deep breath, clearly perplexed by this whole situation, she lifted her head, needing to ask her a serious question. “Trini do you remember like, two years ago when I dated a tennis player?” This was at least before the pair of women decided that moving in together was a good idea. 

Trini sat back, still not connecting the dots, she nodded her head thoughtfully, “Yeah she was really pretty, I remember because she had such long hair…” Gia looked at her with wide eyes, tilting her head forward just enough to be sending Trini a ‘you’re a moron’ signal with her body language. “Oh” she looked down at her bowl of oatmeal, “She got a haircut” Now it really hit her. Last night wasn’t even the first time she had been introduced to the tennis player. She rested a hand on her forehead and groaned, now the hole she dug herself was deeper than she realized. “Your ex-girlfriend is Kimberly Hart” 

“Yeah, you’re an idiot” She could tell Trini was in such distress, so she was nice enough to hold back the laugh. They weren’t as close back then, they actually butted heads a lot when Gia joined the team but over the past year they were able to put all of that behind them. Though this grabbed the curious blonde’s attention, “So, why the sudden interest in my ex?” She teased, she knew for a lesbian their dating circles tended to intertwine. They broke up pretty shortly after the world cup so, she really had no hard feelings about it, besides she had moved on; Kimberly should too. “Don’t answer that, I know how you get around a hot woman” 

“But I fucked it up” Trini sighed, “I thought she was an assistant analyst” Gia cringed, yeah she knew that was a mistake, “I almost asked if she wanted an autograph” She admitted, thinking back at how much worse that would’ve been. If things could get any worse now. 

“First of all that’s so tacky” Gia pointed out, that was a line she would never be using, Trini may be good on the field but right now she absolutely had no game, “That’s going to be a hard one to crawl out of”

“I need to apologize” Trini could work on mustering up the courage to ask her out on a date later, right now was about making things right with the other woman. To show that she really valued her achievements. Even if tennis bored her to tears. “That’s really what matters now” Curious she opened up her laptop once more, trying to sound nonchalant, “Why’d you break up?”

“She wanted something more serious” Gia had grown up a lot since then, now in a new committed relationship with a sports photographer by the name of Emma Goodall. “We just really weren’t meant to be. What? Do I need to give you some sort of friend blessing?” 

“No” Considering she almost tried to go for it the night before, it didn’t really apply. She went back to her tennis video, not bothering to look up to her roommate to make the observation, to how similar the women were in Gia’s dating life. “Wow you really have a type”

“Shut up” The blonde rolled her eyes, having enough of this conversation she got up from the table and started to head toward their bathroom. “I’m taking a shower” After a long run, she felt disgusting. 

Trini laughed, at least the two could pick fun at each other. Turning her attention back to her computer she noticed that at the end of this week, Kimberly and her doubles partner Zack Taylor would be participating in a charity match. That would be her opportunity to apologize in person. 

**********  
Trini wasn't even sure what to wear to a tennis match, so she settled on a USA red polo and some nice jeans, a backwards white ballcap and a pair of sunglasses. Whenever she thought of the sport she would always picture the fancy, the rich country club. Sure she was also a professional athlete but, like gold, the sense of aristocracy always rubbed Trini the wrong way. Soccer was an anyone and everyone kind of game, at least that was how she saw it.

Despite thinking she was incognito the general public around her recognized her as Trini Gomez, and thus was propositioned for before the match selfies and autographs. She didn't mind, she loved being able to stand for something positive, especially as a roll model to young girls. Trini turned in her seat so she could take a selfie of her own, the court in the background.

@TriniG  
Here supporting #USATennis  
[IMG]

She debated on tagging Kimberly and the others in on the post, but decided not to. Not yet. Trini wanted to make her formal apology before getting social media involved. So much could be misconstrued over text.

Now, Trini could admit. Watching Kimberly Hart and Zack Taylor take on the likes of Tanya Sloan and Adam Park live was much more impressive then a video stream of a match on YouTube. Tennis still bored the soccer player, but she could appreciate more of what went into this kind of sport. If anything she could focus on Kim to pass the time, that and she made sure to buy some snacks. With this caliber of play, even a match of three sets could be long and drawn out.

Trini licked her lips, absolutely from the popcorn, not because Kim in a skirt distracted her. Thankful she wore sunglasses, anyone around her would just assume she had the purest intentions. With the match being so long Trini could fully check out those biceps. Obviously as a tennis player, Kimberly would have to carry a strong core and upper body but wow. Trini’s favorite part of the game would have to be when the two teams switched what side of the court they played on. With Kim’s back to her she could watch her shoulder blades work magic. Tennis should not be turning her on as much as it did. She needed a real shot at trying to ask her out again. If she could score just one date with her, everything could be fine. She'd work some Gomez magic, and not stick her foot in her mouth. 

Zack and Kim managed to put on a good show but were beaten out by Adam and Tanya, the later two having a clear advantage as they were more used to a doubles style of game. Still, with the entire game being for charity no one was actually a loser. Trini wanted to catch Kimberly before the after party, with a charity fundraiser there would be a formal country club sponsored event. She managed to get down to the courts before the tennis players even left. Kimberly had been chatting it up with the other three Olympians as Trini tentatively approached them. 

“Excuse me” Kimberly didn't step far away from her pack, but she at least gave Trini some appropriate space. “Surprised you could even find the courts” After a tiring match, Kimberly still remained as poised and as gorgeous as ever. 

Okay, so she still was pissed, Trini deserved that. The soccer star rubbed the back of her neck, girls don't normally put her on the spot like this, usually she could use her starpower to charm the pants off of anyone...literally. “I came here to apologize. I'm sorry for how I acted at the gala” She swallowed hard, she left out the part where they had already met, “I was hoping I could take you out for coffee…” Trini noticed Kimberly’s doubles partner Zack shaking his head no, so he was listening in, “out for drinks?” With a thumbs up from the man she continued, “To make it up to you”

Kimberly found her speech pattern to be odd, she turned her head to the tennis players behind her, only to find Zack wrapping an arm around Tanya and Adam’s shoulders to lead them away. Great, now Kim lost her excuses and any sort of backup. She had to be the bigger person, Trini didn't have to make any effort at all, the fact that she showed up to support her sport went a long way in Kim’s book. “...One drink…” She would give the shorter girl this one shot. Wanting to check the time, she lightly grabbed Trini’s wrist, turning it so she could see her watch, “Meet me at the bar in an hour” 

*****

After taking photos with Zack and the media, Kimberly kept up her side of the arrangement and waited at the bar. Trini hadn't shown up yet, if she were showing up at all that was. Normally she’d be out mingling with the crowd, like her doubles partner, for the evening but she took the risk and wanted to give the other woman the benefit of the doubt. She knew she would regret it later if she didn't try, curiosity of what the soccer star would be like had gotten the best of her. 

With two minutes left on the clock, Trini managed to make her entrance, escape from any sort of media questioning to her presence at the event and made her way to the bar. An hour gave her plenty of time to panic about her apparel, she couldn't waltz in her in jeans. Well, she could, she would, but after a panicked phone call to Gia her roommate was able to meet her somewhere with an alternate outfit. She didn't have suit confidence this time; Gia instead brought her a little black dress and her favorite hoop earrings. 

Trini didn't miss the way Kim checked her out as she approached the bar, her eyes raked over the soccer players body pausing at her legs. So, Gia made the right call on the dress. “Hey” She sat down, just making it to be exactly on time, “I uh” Time to use words Trini, “You were amazing out on the court today” 

Kim honestly was surprised that she would compliment her on her tennis skills over her appearance, “Thank you” She motioned for the bartender to come over to get them started on Trini’s tab. After a match she tended to like the finer tastes and ordered a white wine, Trini settling on a scotch. “You're pretty impressive yourself”

Trini was used to the compliments from everyone around her, her family, her friends, the media, the fans...it coming from a woman she had been attracted to? Much different. The normally confident, accomplished player rubbed the back of her neck bashfully, “Nah, I'm just as good as the rest of the team” Okay, that definitely was not true, but she needed to be more humble. 

“No really I saw the game against Brazil and that come from behind win” Kimberly took a sip of her wine, setting the glass down on a napkin before dropping a statistic, “Down by three and you scoring the tie and winning goal within the last minute and thirty nine seconds of regular game time” 

“....” Trini’s eyes widened, it was one thing for Kimberly to know about the come from behind win or that she scored two goals, but to know the exact time. God, and Trini didn't even know Kim was an athlete. “Oh”

A smile grew on Kimberly’s face as her company for the evening had to take a sip of her drink. “Relax, I looked up an article while I was waiting just so I could freak you out” she teased, letting her guard down. 

It worked, “I already feel like such an ass” Trini laughed, really hoping that this meant that they could finally get past her earlier blunder. “Can we start over?” She offered the other woman her hand, “Hi, I'm Trini Gomez” the third time introduction would the charm, she was sure of it. 

“Nice to meet you” Again, she delicately took Trini’s hand to shake it, “Kimberly Hart”

“Wow, tennis royalty in the flesh, I'm honored” Trini let go of her hand, now it was really time to shine, “Can I trouble you for an autograph?” Tacky sure, but flashing a toothy smile she knew Kim wouldn't be able to resist. 

“Anything for a fan” Unable to hold back a laugh, Kimberly called the bartender over for a pen. Smirking as she held Trini’s wrist, writing out her cell phone number on the inside of her forearm. A clear sign that not only was Trini forgiven but she had a damn good shot with the princess of tennis. 

With the initial awkwardness out of the way, the two were able to flow into a natural conversation on how they got to this point. Tennis and soccer were truly two separate worlds. Kimberly had only herself to rely on, tennis became her entire world. She didn't get a chance to have a regular childhood. She admitted, after the second glass of wine, that she didn't even get to go to prom. 

For Trini she had played soccer from an early age and kept at it through high school and college before trying out and continuing onto the pro circuit. She could talk Kimberly’s ear off to the range of teammates she was stuck with. Put a group of girls together, there was no guarantee that they would get along. Once in High School a girl tried to blatantly get Trini kicked off the team out of a jealous vendetta. It wasn't until college when Trini had been blessed with better teammates that helped give her the confidence to be herself. Kimberly enjoyed sharing these stories, it confirmed that she never wanted to be on a team. 

“I'm actually writing a book” Trini shifted the conversation from her college years. That seemed to garner Kim’s curious attention, “Trying to” Her writing could use some work, but that's what an editor was paid to do, “Soccer has given me so much” A paying career, a chance to travel the world, everyone around the country knew her name. “I want to give back”

“By writing your life story?” Kimberly’s brow rose, she didn't quite see where Trini was going with this. She couldn't have been that self centered.

“Okay not like ‘I'm so amazing’ it's...it sucked being in the closet and not having much of anyone to look up to” She found comfort in her drink, finishing it off, “If I can inspire one person to power through, well, I think it's worth it” Trini would gladly take on the roll as the gay soccer player who wanted to make a difference in the queer community. 

“You'll have to send me a copy when it's done” Kimberly could see Zack approaching the bar with Adam and Tanya, which could only mean that her alone time with Trini would come to an end shortly. Kim promised one drink, but with natural conversation one turned into two. She needed to go back to the charity gala and she really didn't need Zack interacting with Trini, she didn't need a wingman tonight. All she needed was to make a power play. “I'm afraid my time with you is coming to an end” As Kim stood from the barstool, Trini turned to see the other tennis players. “I’d like to see you again” with the attention back on her Kimberly took the opportunity to lean forward and capture Trini’s lips with her own. “Ball’s in your court” 

Trini had Kimberly’s number on her arm, if she wanted to go on an actual date she could contact her at anytime. With her back to the stunned soccer player she approached her friends. Zack looked on with a huge grin on his face. “Soo how'd that go?”

Kimberly counted down from three with her fingers before a sound from her phone went off, a new number, “Hello?” She turned away from her friends to see Trini still at the bar, a phone to her ear. 

“Hey, so, can I take you out to dinner Friday night? You like Italian?”

“Consider it a date” Game, set and match. Despite the blunder Trini could walk away from this night with a win. She finally won over Kimberly Hart, tennis pro and a name she could never forget.


End file.
